


Dead of Night

by shipskicksandgiggles



Series: Hellaween week [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: Fluff, Ghost Harley Keener, Ghost Peter Parker, Hauntings, Implied Teenage Parents, Kid Fic, M/M, Mild Angst, implied neglect of a child
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-26
Updated: 2019-10-26
Packaged: 2021-01-03 10:42:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 654
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21178097
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shipskicksandgiggles/pseuds/shipskicksandgiggles
Summary: A new family moves in. How will the building's resident ghosts react?





	Dead of Night

**Author's Note:**

> it's halloween week! this almost didn't happen but we love a productive bitch
> 
> todays prompt: Ghosts/Haunted House/”Are you afraid of the dark?”

Apartment building are like zoos for ghosts. Except you don't pay. You didn’t choose to go. You also never leave. But it is highly entertaining.

“Mrs. Martinez got a new cat.”

“Fuck really? Another one? What is this now, 16?”

It’s also more fun to haunt an apartment building if you have your significant other as a haunting partner. 

“Listen, Harley, if the previous 15 brought her joy, I’m sure Number 16 will do the same.”

“Peter, I’m just sayin’ it’s excessive.”

Peter Parker and his boyfriend Harley Keener had died in a fire some years ago, but some things never changed. Silly arguments were a fun part of their relationship.

“Did the empty unit get filled yet?” Harley asked. There had been an empty apartment for months, and they had heard noises of a new family coming to live there. 

“Saw a guy dropping off boxes today.”

“Oh  _ nice _ .”

~~~

It became a bit of a game to them.

“Moving stage?”

“I think they have the last of their boxes dropped off today.”

~~~

“Stage?”

“They started unpacking. There’s a lot. I think they have kids”

“Oh ew.”

~~~

“They have  _ a _ kid.”

Peter just looked at him. “Are you stalking the new people?”

“No. I’ve been talking to Luna,” Harley answered.

“Who?”

“Cat Number 16.” 

“Should have guessed.”

~~~

The kid was young. Maybe 4 years old. 

His parents were… also young shall we say. And they worked all the time. Babysitters came and went faster than Mrs. Martinez’s cats. 

Peter, who initially wanted nothing to do with him, felt the need to protect him.

“Harley, stop laughing at me.”

“You got attached to a 4 year old! What else am I gonna do?”

The pout Peter gave him could rival that of, yes, a 4 year old. “Is this you being upset that we never had the chance to adopt that baby before we died? Because you know we can’t do anything about it now.”

“I wanted kids.”

“I know.”

~~~

Peter became his unofficial guardian anyways. 

“Darlin’-”

“I know, shut up.”

~~~

Bed time was never fun with kids. This kid; however,  _ cried _ . 

One night, Peter finally had enough. There wasn’t a single person around to keep him safe, and he was fed up. It took energy to appear to humans, but he was willing.

He materialized outside of the door to be safe, and then came in to the bedroom after knocking on the door. “Hey sweetie. What’s a matter?” he whispered.

“Scared,” he whispered back. 

“Are you afraid of the dark?”

His nod was pitiful. 

“Guess what? I’m gonna stay here and light up the room a bit to keep you safe. Does that sound okay?”

The nod was slightly more energetic now. Peter took a deep breath and held it for a second, drawing energy to produce the wanted effect.

“Woah, mister! You glow!”

“You betcha, kiddo. Now get some sleep okay? I’ll stay right here until mommy and daddy get home, I promise.”

The glow was a light that resided from his life. It lasted because he and Harley lasted. It was a warmth born out of happiness and love from his life. 

He chose to use it to help this child. 

Peter kept coming back, night after night, after the adults had gone away. He made sure the boy, Adam he learned, was safe and sound asleep before he disappeared. 

“I still can’t believe you,” Harley commented on one occation as they sat on the fire escape outside Mrs. Martinez’s apartment watching the sunrise.

“You’re just jealous you didn’t think of it first.”

“It’s cuter to watch you do it, doll. You would have been a wonderful parent.”

“ _ We _ would have been wonderful parents.”

Tears were seldom shed after sundown in this home. Peter assured it. This child would learn to produce his own light in the future, but for now, Peter was happy to be the light in the darkness. 

**Author's Note:**

> find me on tumblr at [parallelparkner](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/parallelparkner/)


End file.
